After a huge program on Saturday, Sunday morning at Sydney Dragway brought the Haltech East Coast Nationals to a close with an exciting program of Aeroflow Sportsman Championship racing, delivering both NDRC Christmas Trees and critical results ahead of the racers’ upcoming penultimate rounds (All Bike Nationals and Southern Sportsman Slam on October 10).
When all was said and done, it was the following racers who took out the wins for their respective brackets: Jake McNamara (Aeroflow Junior Dragster, from runner-up Alexis Attard), Kobe Ashelford (Aeroflow Junior Drag Bike – from r-up Vanz Peirano), Craig Warren (Super Street, from r-up Aidan Stutchbury), Luke Cartledge (Super Comp, from r-up Adrian Vella), Michael Cristoforo (Modified Bike, from r-up Jimmy-Jock Stewart), Edge Mallis (Performance Bike, from r-up Samuel Fry), Bruno Matijasevic (Supercharged Outlaws, from r-up Toby Austin), Victor Tsatlogianis (Super Sedan, from Leo Georgis), Matt Clarke (Top Sportsman, from r-up John Rigatos) and Jess Turner (Modified, from r-up Matt Forbes).
In Supercharged Outlaws, Bruno Matijasevic claimed the NDRC Christmas Tree from runner-up Toby Austin. Matijasevic had earlier faced off against Christopher Dalton in round one and Jeff Sargent in round two, before eliminating Simon Madigan in the semi-finals – who had defeated Top Qualifier Britney Olive in round one*. Austin meanwhile had proceeded through match-ups against Jamie Robertson, Anthony Bool, and Peter Byrne to go to the final. *Saturday’s reporting mistakenly listed Jeff Sargent as the Top Qualifier. Britney Olive is the correct Top Qualifier for Supercharged Outlaws.
“I am pretty stoked, this has been a long time coming, and that’s one big trophy!” Matijasevic said about winning what is his first Gold Christmas Tree trophy.
“I’m ecstatic, this is unbelievable. We have been racing for a lot of years, 25 if not longer starting in Super Sedan and now through to Supercharged Outlaws, so I’m absolutely over the moon over it. A lot of luck played a part in it too, but that’s racing I suppose.
“To actually get the gold Christmas tree, they are few and far between and very hard to get no matter how good a racer you are; and you have got to have a bit of luck play a part.
“We now look ahead to the Southern Slam. We are only about three hours away from there, so we will get the car home, get it out and have a look, and get ready for that!” he added, while thanking his crew, wife, son, son-in-law, all of the people who help behind the scenes with keeping his car out there, and also PC Freight.
In Super Comp, Luke Cartledge took the win over Top Qualifier Adrian Vella in the final. Cartledge beat Sarah Roderick in round one, John Kuiper in round two and a red-lighting Mike Bailey in round three to book his place in the decider. Vella, meanwhile, accounted for Mitch Oxley in round one and Pat Firriolo in round two, before a semi-final bye.
In Modified Bike, Michael Cristoforo claimed the Christmas Tree from seventh qualifier in the nine-bike field, defeating Jimmy-Jock Stewart in the final. Cristoforo beat Jessy James Barnes in round one and Greg Horadam in round two ahead of a semi-final bye, while Stewart faced Gareth Wilcox in round one before a round two bye and a semi-final win over Sean Ricketts – who had earlier put an end to the Haltech East Coast Nationals campaign of Top Qualifier Dean Jamieson in round two.
“Thanks to the NDRC for making all the right calls, even though a lot of the competitors weren’t too happy at the time — they turned out to be the right decisions,” Cristoforo said.
“Thanks also to Sydney Dragway – this was my first time here, coming over from Adelaide, and I was very impressed. This place has plenty of soul; that is the big thing that stood out for us.
“Thank you to Marco Bellini, my crew member, and to Wildcard Customs, Alpha Performance Engines, and Andrew from RMS Performance for their support.”
In Performance Bike, Edge Mallis took the win over Top Qualifier Samuel Fry in the final, from fifth qualifier in the six-bike field. Mallis beat Cheryl ‘MsVrod’ Beddoes in round one and Ken Collin in round two to reach the decider. Fry, meanwhile, enjoyed a round one bye before eliminating Bobbie Schluter in the semi-final.
In Modified, Jess Turner claimed the Christmas Tree, defeating runner-up Matt Forbes in the final. Turner had earlier emerged victorious from match-ups against Matthew Welch in round one, Ally Stewart in round two and Brett Farnell – who had dispatched Top Qualifier Daniel ‘BatDan’ Carranza in round two – in the semis to reach the decider. Forbes, meanwhile, opened with a win over Tegan Smith before eliminating Adriana Cartledge (round two) and Mark Bool (semis).
“It was a strange weekend, I suppose, but very good in the end. Thanks to all my sponsors for their support, to my super crew for making my job easy, and to all the track staff and everyone at the NDRC for putting on the event and getting it finished. We are very grateful, and very happy with the win,” Turner said.
“The conditions were quite tricky, but the car ran really well, and the driver did good enough to get the win, so I’m happy with that.”
In Aeroflow Junior Dragster, Jake McNamara claimed the Christmas Tree from 13th qualifier in the 20-car field, defeating Alexis Attard in the final. McNamara beat Nixon Cannuli in round one, Liam O’Neill in round two, Taylen Cannuli in round three, and Bailey Hawke in the semi-final, while Attard had dispatched Nevaeh McDougall (round one), Marcus Princi (round two), and Cristian Cannuli (round three) ahead of a semi-final bye. Top Qualifier Cody Sedmak was eliminated in round one by Luca Lamattina, who was then defeated in round two by Hawke.
“I feel great. It was an uncertain meeting after the weather rolled in last night, and the NDRC made a good choice to bring it to the next day and finish it off for us,” McNamara said.
“At the start of qualifying we were feeling unsure as we hurt the clutch, so we didn’t know if we were going to run the rest of the meeting, but thankfully my pop, uncle, and friends helped resolve the issue, and we got through all the way to the win.
“I would also like to thank the Bounassif family and the Raikkos family for their support, and my own family for their hard work and dedication, and for funding my racing.”
In Aeroflow Junior Drag Bike, Top Qualifier Kobe Ashelford went on to claim the Christmas Tree in the seven-bike field, defeating Vanz Peirano in the final. Ashelford benefited from a round one bye before eliminating Bailey Paul in round two. Peirano, meanwhile, beat Christopher Davidson in round one before progressing past Aliza Harris in round two.
In Super Sedan, Victor Tsatlogianis claimed the Christmas Tree from 18th qualifier in the 29-car field, defeating Leo Georgis in the final. Tsatlogianis had gotten past Wayne Bourke (round one), Nathan Cowie (round two), Sean Maher (round three), and Michael Vlasakakis (semis) to reach the decider. Georgis, meanwhile, had beaten Dimos Stefanopoulos, Jack Moreau, Denis Plessas, and Nathan Watt on his way to the final. Top Qualifier Peter Furlanetto was defeated in round two by Naomi Dyson, who was then eliminated by Watt in round three.
In Super Street, Craig Warren took the win over Aidan Stutchbury in the final. To make his way to the final, Warren successfully took on Neil Mellett (round one), Mark Rossow (round two), and Tex Griffiths (round three), before a bye run in the semi-final. Stutchbury, meanwhile, accounted for Rodney Balgowan, Jorja Stefanopoulos, Top Qualifier Sammy-Jo Johnson, and Andrew Waight (semis).
In Top Sportsman, Matt Clarke took the win over John Rigatos in the final. Clarke beat Daniel Moit in round one, Darren Moody in round two and Josh Boskovich in the semi-finals. Rigatos, meanwhile, opened with a win over Peter Finianos, before eliminating Brett O’Connor in round two and Iraklis Kazanzidis in the semi to book his place in the final. Vlado Turic was the Top Qualifier for Top Sportsman but took no part in racing.
For the wrap-up of Saturday’s Haltech East Coast Nationals action, please click here.
The Aeroflow Sportsman Championship now looks ahead to October 10 for its penultimate rounds, with the bikes heading to Dragway at The Bend for the All Bike Nationals, while everyone else takes to Heathcote’s Victoria Motorsport Park for the new Southern Sportsman Slam.
From there, every NDRC bracket will descend on Dragway at The Bend across October 22-25 for the 2026 season finale, with BLAHST Top Fuel, XPRO Nitro Funny Car, Top Doorslammer, Top Fuel Motorcycle, Pro Alcohol, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, Pro Mod and all 10 Aeroflow Sportsman Championship brackets deciding their champions in a four-day blockbuster. For event information, visit https://nationaldragracing.com.au/calendar/
To learn more about the NDRC, visit www.ndrc.tv
